does an iron and toner transfer really work?

rwgast_logicdesign

So heres the deal this is my first pcb. with pcbs at a dollar a pop on seeedstudio i dont ever plan on doing this again unless i just need a single pcb same day.

anyways i went to the local office supply store and had them print up the arduino pcb in the diy pdf on arduinos site. i did a couple transfers of text to get a feel for the process they knd of sucked too. heres a pic of my board

http://db.tt/Grygo86g

this is the steps i used..

1 cut the clad
2 sanded with 1000 grit wet and soapy
3 cleaned with dish soap and sponge
4 brushed with acitone
5 baked at 250 for a few mins to burn out moisture
6 taped pic to clad using 4 pieces of making one on each side
7 put a piece of paper over the clad and xfer pic(clad and xfer still taped togather)
8 put all my wieght on the iron held on top of the paper about 3 mins then ironed for 8 to 12
9 transfer was stuck to clad let it cool soaked in hot water for 30 mins then rubbed paper off with finger tip no nail and sponge.

the only thing i did wrong was touch the xfer paper becuase i didnt know better but i tried wiping it off and using a lil peroxide on a test and it didnt maoe a noticible difference. i had the printer set the ultra black setting and use a blank piece of what she called magazine paper it was thin double sided glossy. i dont know mch about tue print/paper world.

anywas an tips would be nice ive seen decent transfers. i cant afford an iron or photo exposure, and if your gonna tell me to order special paper i may as well get boards made as ive already got way to much invested in this between chems and an iron i coulda got 30 pcbs

Leon

Try the Homebrew PCB Yahoo group:

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBs/

Some people there use toner-transfer.

Photo-etch is much easier and the results are a lot better.

LoopyByteloose

The board you show in your post might work well if you touch up missing traces with a marker and use an Xacto knife to separate areas that appear to overlap. I wouldn't bother to etch it without a serious session of touch up.

Some printers come with a feature to print images on CDs. I've often wondered if one would just print on a blank copper board and then you could pop it in an etch solution.

The iron and toner transfer does work, but tends to require touch up with a marker that resists the etch solution. In other words, it is not as pretty and won't provide as much detail as printing a transparency and using a board that requires exposure to light.

It might be fine for DIPs and through hole designs, but SMDs require finer lines and better details.

I use an HP inkjet printer and transparencies. Canon printers didn't seem to work for me as the ink is different. Some people print two transparencies in a laser printer and tape them together in a piggy back fashion to get good results.

In other words, there are lots of ways to do this successfully. But we all have our own preferred system depending on what we have, what we know, and what we can afford.

bee_man

Unless the photo you posted is deceiving you should get much better toner transfer than that. I don't spend as much time and effort as you do in board prep just shine it up with steal wool or 400 grit wet sandpaper.

My steps are:

1) Print reverse image on cheapo Staples brand photo paper with laser printer
2) Prep board by lightly sanding with 400 wet/dry sandpaper
3) Cut photo paper to size and tape to circuit board (use very small pieces of tape or you will gum up your wifes clothes iron)
4) Iron with iron set to high or cotton, press very hard and for ~5 min. on an old magazine
5) Cool under running cold water while gently rubbing off paper backing

If you get any bad areas that rub off, start over no big deal. The toner that transfers is rather difficult to get off even after etching.
Make sure that all areas that you want etched are shiny and free of paper residue before you etch.

max72

A little bit of trial and error will improve for sure the results. It looks you have nice results on some areas, to the uniformity is the main issue.
I have little experience, but a combination of the right paper, the right cleaning and the right ironing is mandatory.
If the results are not uniform either cleaning is to be perfected (I sand and acetone clean only), or ironing.
Try to add a softer/firmer support below the pcb, verify iron temperature, and work on evening the pressure around.
With my paper and some ironing I usually have difficulty removing the paper, but for sure the toner sticks to the PCB (sometimes it smears), with other papers I have little adhesion, so it is a trial and error process, at first.
Massimo